Lambert in or out? Poll reset with majority 'in', 7th May

[tomd2103]

What would have been better value for our pennies?

£2m on Sylla to sit on the bench. Or a centre back for the same amount of money?

yep, baffling. Why the fuck he bought him is anyone's guess. One for the Championship?

It's a signing that's got "Salifou" written all over it.

Salifou was just a hopeful punt with a bit of spare change though, not the last throw of the dice to save us from relegation.  Isn't the whole point of the January transfer window to bring in players that can have an impact NOW because you have a glaring deficiency that can't wait till May? Obviously not.

Very true Greg.  Can't help but think that the money would have been better spent on the wages of a couple of experienced loan signings.

[curiousorange]

What would have been better value for our pennies?

£2m on Sylla to sit on the bench. Or a centre back for the same amount of money?

yep, baffling. Why the fuck he bought him is anyone's guess. One for the Championship?

It's a signing that's got "Salifou" written all over it.

Salifou was just a hopeful punt with a bit of spare change though, not the last throw of the dice to save us from relegation.  Isn't the whole point of the January transfer window to bring in players that can have an impact NOW because you have a glaring deficiency that can't wait till May? Obviously not.

Very true Greg.  Can't help but think that the money would have been better spent on the wages of a couple of experienced loan signings.

We could, theoretically, bring in free agents couldn't we? I know we won't, but are they eligible?

[eastie]

Defensive errors will be our downfall- delph will be missed badly the next 2 games, gabby and nzogbia both poor last night - we need everyone pulling their weight - too many players are not performing - the next 2 games are huge - we will see who can stand up and be counted on.

Lambert took a huge gamble not signing a defender - it could be a gamble that costs us tens of millions.

[Dave]

Lambert took a huge gamble not signing a defender - it could be a gamble that costs us tens of millions.

Yes, throwing a couple of hundred thousand at someone like Scharner would probably have been more help than Sylla has been thus far.

But as it looks as though there was very close to bugger all to spend, I'm not sure that in the market we were shopping in it will have made a massive difference.

[Nev]

Lambert took a huge gamble not signing a defender - it could be a gamble that costs us tens of millions.

Yes, throwing a couple of hundred thousand at someone like Scharner would probably have been more help than Sylla has been thus far.

But as it looks as though there was very close to bugger all to spend, I'm not sure that in the market we were shopping in it will have made a massive difference.

It may not have worked, but it was worth a shot, that's why I am so angry with the manager. He has given the team a concrete lifebelt.

[Chris Smith]

Lambert took a huge gamble not signing a defender - it could be a gamble that costs us tens of millions.

Yes, throwing a couple of hundred thousand at someone like Scharner would probably have been more help than Sylla has been thus far.

But as it looks as though there was very close to bugger all to spend, I'm not sure that in the market we were shopping in it will have made a massive difference.

He was never going to be allowed to do that. After spending the best part of 3 years trying to trim the wage bill we were not going to be able to spend money on expensive, short term fixes who wouldn't come here without the security of a long term contract.

[Ads]

Sylla did not cost anything like £2million.

[PaulWinch again]

Sylla seems like a very odd signing, it's now March and he hasn't started a game. What was the point?

[Risso]

Sylla did not cost anything like £2million.

According to every single news site out there he did.

[Clampy]

Lambert took a huge gamble not signing a defender - it could be a gamble that costs us tens of millions.

Yes, throwing a couple of hundred thousand at someone like Scharner would probably have been more help than Sylla has been thus far.

But as it looks as though there was very close to bugger all to spend, I'm not sure that in the market we were shopping in it will have made a massive difference.

He was never going to be allowed to do that. After spending the best part of 3 years trying to trim the wage bill we were not going to be able to spend money on expensive, short term fixes who wouldn't come here without the security of a long term contract.

We needed to do something defensively though. It's not ideal to have Clark and Baker in a relegation scrap. Yeah they'll become better players for it hopefully but you need an old head or two to guide them through it and we have'nt really got that anywhere on the pitch, never mind in defence.

[Risso]

The world and his dog could see we needed some experience in defence and central midfield.  Everybody except the people in charge at Villa.

[PaulWinch again]

I think it's pretty poor that fans and pundits alike could see exactly what this team needed and it was only the management and ownership who were unaware. It's not like the fans were demanding we signed Cambiasso and Pique either, we just wanted some experience.

[Risso]

Exactly.  I refuse to believe that in the world of professional football, there wasn't a defender available who was better than Clark for a reasonable fee.

[achilles]

It would be nice if someone could ask Lambchop why he bought Sylla, as it seems that it was definitely not for this season... perhaps he is planning ahead! (winky thingy)

[supertom]

Exactly.  I refuse to believe that in the world of professional football, there wasn't a defender available who was better than Clark for a reasonable fee.

This. I'm not being funny but there's probably defenders in league 1 and 2 who can tackle, head a ball and keep their concentration for 90 minutes too who will be more effective than Clark. Or could our scouts not have found a decent defender from abroad who could come into the side. Clark has been a nightmare.
The debate as to his long term effectiveness is irrelevant at the moment. But it's patently clear at this time that he shouldn't be playing. He's a liability.
I'm also sure had Lerner been asked for a bit of cash for a centre back good enough he'd have forked it over to save our season. We're not talking much. I'm pretty sure there must have been more available than 2 million for Sylla and whatever fee we paid for Dawkins on loan. (plus the wages of both). We did get rid of Hutton and Warnock too.